Fireplace with removable door

ABSTRACT

A fireplace with a removable door includes a hemispherically shaped firebox with a flat, sloped front face with an opening therethrough to allow access to the firebox, with a protruding lip extending along the lower edge of the flat front face beneath the opening. A removable glass panel door positioned against the flat front face and supported on the protruding lip covers the front opening. A latching mechanism secures the door against the front face by rotating an extending arm to engage against the interior side of the front face. Alternative embodiments having a mesh screen door, a vent in the firebox, a grate integrated into the firebox, and an eccentrically positioned chimney with a damper are also described.

BACKGROUND

Fireplaces of various configurations are commonly used for heating, aswell as for cooking and decorative purposes. Different fireplaces areconfigured to be used with specific types of fuel, for example, manyfireplaces burn wood, while others burn coal or fuel pellets. While thevarious types of fireplaces differ in some respects, they all share manycommon features. For example, fireplaces generally include an openingfor loading a fuel source, a firebox for containing the burning fuel,and a chimney for directing smoke from the burning fuel upwardly awayfrom the firebox. The opening in wood burning fireplaces is typicallypositioned at the front of the fireplace so that users can load woodinto the firebox from the front and can view the burning fire within.

Many fireplaces also include a removable grate that positions the fuelabove the bottom floor or surface of the firebox to allow better oxygenflow to the burning fuel. And, many fireplaces include one or more doorshingedly or otherwise attached to the front face of the fireplace sothat front opening can be covered and uncovered as desired to allowloading fuel into the firebox and/or to regulate and contain the heatwithin the firebox, and often include attached sliding mesh screens thatcan be drawn across the opening to inhibit sparks and embers fromleaving the firebox area.

While known fireplace designs are useful for their intended purpose,their designs and features are not without drawbacks. For example,typical removable grates are not attached to the firebox floor, allowingthe grate to slide or move when adding or adjusting fuel within thefirebox. And, permanently attached doors cannot be removed for cleaningand cannot be positioned out of the way if desired. Furthermore, typicalfolding or hingedly attached doors do not provide a good seal to thefront opening of the fireplace. Thus it can be seen that there remains aneed in the art for a fireplace that overcomes the disadvantage of priorart designs.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention are defined by the claims below, not thissummary. A high-level overview of various aspects of the invention isprovided here to introduce a selection of concepts that are furtherdescribed in the Detailed-Description section below. This summary is notintended to identify key features or essential features of the claimedsubject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determinethe scope of the claimed subject matter. In brief, this disclosuredescribes, among other things, a fireplace having a lockable andremovable door, an integrated grate, and an eccentrically orientedchimney.

In one embodiment, the fireplace includes a hemispherically shapedfirebox with front, back, left, right, top, and bottom walls formedintegrally into the generally hemispherical shape. The front factincludes a flat portion that slopes rearwardly as it extends upwardly toform a slanted front face with an opening formed therethrough allowingaccess to the interior firebox. A protruding lower lip extends along thelower edge of the front face underneath the front opening, with thejunction of the front lip at the lower outer corners of the flat frontface forming a cradle configured to support a glass panel door or meshscreen door to cover the front opening. The door includes an arm at theend of a rotating latching mechanism actuated by a front mountedT-handle, allowing a user to lock the door into place when positionedagainst the front face of the fireplace to prevent smoke and/or embersfrom leaving the firebox through the front opening. With the doorunlatched, the entire door may be removed from the front opening and setaside to allow loading wood or fuel into the firebox.

In one aspect, the fireplace includes a grate formed in the floor of thefirebox to position wood or fuel above the bottom floor of the fireboxand to allow air to flow freely around the wood or fuel.

In another aspect, a vent is formed in the bottom floor of the fireboxto allow air to flow into the firebox. A movable vent cover allows auser to regulate the amount of airflow into the firebox to similarlyregulate the burn rate of the wood or fuel.

In yet another aspect, the chimney of the fireplace is positionedeccentrically rearward, or offset from the vertical center axis of thefireplace. The rearward eccentric positioning draws smoke from thefirebox back, away from the front opening of the fireplace. In a furtheraspect, a damper vent is positioned within the fireplace such that nodamper is required in the flue.

In further aspects, the door may comprise a glass panel, an emberscreen, or combinations thereof.

Thus, the fireplace of the present invention allows a user to seal thefront opening with a removable door, and to lock the door in place toprevent accidental opening. A user can likewise completely remove thedoor from the fireplace to allow full access to the firebox for loadingfuel or cleaning.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described in detail belowwith reference to the attached drawing figures, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a fireplace in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention depicting the removabledoor in place covering the firebox opening.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the fireplace of FIG. 1 depictingthe removable door removed from the firebox opening.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the fireplace of FIG. 1 withoutthe removable door and showing the interior of the fireplace.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the removable door of the fireplace of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the removable door of the fireplace ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the fireplace of FIG. 1 with the removable doorin place.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the fireplace of FIG. 1 with the removable doorin place.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the fireplace of FIG. 1 with the removabledoor in place.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the damper plate and operating mechanismlocated in the chimney of the fireplace of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a close-up perspective view of the vent and cover of thefireplace of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of select embodiments of the invention is describedwith specificity herein to meet statutory requirements. But thedescription itself is not intended to necessarily limit the scope ofclaims. Rather, the claimed subject matter might be embodied in otherways to include different components, steps, or combinations thereofsimilar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction withother present or future technologies. Terms should not be interpreted asimplying any particular order among or between various steps hereindisclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps isexplicitly described. The terms “about” or “approximately” as usedherein denote deviations from the exact value in the form of changes ordeviations that are insignificant to the function.

Embodiments of the invention include a fireplace having a removable andlockable door. Various embodiments described employ various features ofthe fireplace that may be present individually or in combination invarious embodiments of the present invention.

Looking first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a fireplace in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention is depicted generally bythe numeral 10. The fireplace 10 includes a contiguous body portion 12generally defined by rounded top 14, back 16, front 18, and left 20 andright 22 side walls, and substantially flat bottom wall 24, eachtransitioning to the other seamlessly to form an integral, generallyhemispherical shaped fireplace having a flat bottom 24. The body portion12 defines an interior firebox 26 into which wood or other fuel isplaced for burning, with the interior surfaces of the walls 14, 16, 18,20, 22, 24 forming the contiguous inner surface of the firebox. Thefront wall 18 comprises a sloped flat face portion 28, with asemicircular front opening 30 formed through the flat face so that theflat face 28 forms a frame 32 surrounding the front opening 30. A frontedge of the bottom wall 24 extends outwardly and upwardly from thebottom edge of the front wall 14, forming a lower protruding lip 34extending across the bottom of the front opening 30, forming a cradle 36a, 36 b at each side of the lower protruding lip 34, at the junctionbetween the upwardly extending protruding lip 34 and the correspondingside wall 20, 22, near the bottom corners of the front opening 30.

As best seen in FIG. 3, a grate 38 is formed integrally with theinterior surface of the bottom wall 24, within the interior of thefirebox 26. The grate 38 comprises a series of closed, elongated,triangular-shaped protrusions 40 extending upwardly from the interiorsurface of the bottom wall 24 into the firebox 26 in spaced-apartrelationship. Each adjacent pair of protrusions 40 defines acorresponding space 42 therebetween, so that the set of protrusions 40and spaces 42 form the integrated grate 38 along the interior bottomwall 24. In use, wood or fuel is placed onto and across the upper edgesof the spaced-apart protrusions 40, which support the wood above thebottom wall 24 of the firebox 26. The spaces 42 between the adjacentprotrusions 40 allow air to flow under and around the supported wood tofacilitate even burning of a fire within the firebox 26.

Preferably the body portion 12 and the grate are formed of a strong,rigid material such as steel or metal. Most preferably, they are formedof cast iron.

The upper portions of each of the rounded front 18, back 16, left 20,and right 22 walls converge at the rounded top wall 14 of thehemispherical body portion 12 and into a tubular chimney 44 whichextends upwardly from the top wall 14 of the hemispherical body portion12. The interior passageway 46 of the chimney 44 is in flowcommunication with the interior firebox 26 so that hot air, smoke, andgasses emitted by the burning wood or fuel within the firebox 26 riseand travel upwardly from the firebox and through the chimney. As isknown in the art, the chimney of the fireplace is typically connected toa flue which further directs the smoke and gasses upwardly from thefirebox.

As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the center axis 100 of the chimney 44 ispositioned rearwardly of the center axis 102 of the generallyhemisphrically shaped body portion 12 of the fireplace. The eccentricplacement of the chimney draws air (and thus smoke) away from the frontopening 30. Thus, even without a door in place covering the frontopening 30, smoke is drawn back and away from the front opening.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 9, a circular shaped damper 48, formed to conformclosely to the inner wall of the interior passageway 46 of the chimney44, is positioned within the chimney 44. A shaft 110 attached across adiameter of the damper 48 extends through the wall of the chimney 44 andis coupled at one end to a knob 50 positioned adjacent the outer wall ofthe chimney 44. The knob 50 allows a user to rotate the shaft to movethe damper 48 between a closed position in which the damper issubstantially horizontal, an open position in which the damper issubstantially vertical, and any point therebetween. A flange 112 extendsradially outwardly from the shaft, proximate the knob 50 and positionsthe shaft against one side of the outer wall of the chimney 44. A nut114 secures the opposite end of the shaft 110 at the opposing side ofthe chimney 44 with a spring 116 fitted over the shaft and compressedbetween the nut 112 and the outer wall of the chimney 44 so that thefrictional engagement of the spring against the chimney wall secures thedamper in any position selected by a user by using the knob 50 to rotatethe damper to a desired position.

Looking FIGS. 1 through 4, a semicircular shaped removable door 52 isconfigured to cover the similarly-shaped front opening 30 in the frontwall 18 when placed against the flat face portion 28. The door 52includes front and back semicircular frames 54, each having an arcedupper portion 56 and a straight bottom portion 58, defining an opening60 therethrough. The height and width of the door 52 exceed thecorresponding height and width of the front opening 30 in the front wall18 of the fireplace, preferably by at least one-half to one-inch in bothdimensions so that with the door 52 placed against the flat face portion28 of the front wall 18, the front opening 30 is entirely covered by thedoor.

A glass panel 62 is attached between the opening 60 in the door 52formed between the arced upper portions 58 of the door frames 54 and thestraight bottom portions 56 of the door frames 54. The glass ispreferably sandwiched between the front and back door frames 54 andsecured therebetween via fasteners attaching the two frames togetherwith the glass trapped between. Preferably, the glass panel 62 is madefrom tempered glass. In alternative embodiments, a mesh screen may beused in place of the glass panel. With the glass panel 62 positioned onthe protruding lip 34 and cradles 36 a, 36 b protruding from the loweredge of the front wall 18, the frame 54 of the door rests against theflat face 28 of the front wall 18 so that the door covers and seals theentire front opening 30.

As best seen by viewing FIGS. 1 and 2 in conjunction with FIGS. 3 and 4,a latching mechanism 64 if positioned at the upper middle portion of thedoor 52, in the arced upper portion 58 of the frame 54. The latchingmechanism 64 comprises a cylindrical rod 66 extending through the doorframe 54, a T-shaped handle 68 attached to the outer end of the rod 66on the outer-facing face of the door 52, and a leg 70 attached to andextending radially outwardly from the inner end of the rod 66 on thefirebox-facing side of the door.

Turning the T-shaped handle 68 rotates the shaft 66 which in turnrotates the leg 70 attached at the opposite end of the shaft 66.Preferably the elongated portion of the T-shaped handle 68 is alignedwith the elongated leg 70 so that the position of the leg 70 can bedetermined by observing the corresponding position of the handle. Theleg 70 can thus be positioned horizontally—in which case the leg 70 ispositioned entirely over the door 52—or vertically—in which case the leg70 extends outwardly and perpendicular to the upper edge of the door 52.

With the leg 70 in the horizontal position, the door 52 is placed inposition against the front face 28 of the front wall, and the door islatched into place by turning the handle 68 to rotate the leg 70 to itsvertical position so that the leg engages against the inner side of theupper portion of the flat face 28, in the firebox 26, to secure the doorin place against the flat face 28. Thus, the front opening 30 of thefirebox can be sealed with the removable door 52. If desired or whenrequired, the door 52 can be completely removed from the fireplace byturning the T-shaped handle 58 to rotate the leg 70 to its horizontalposition and the door 52 can be removed completely from the fireplace.

In alternative embodiments, the latching mechanism 64 may include aspring or spacer positioned over the shaft 66, near the extending leg 70to provide a bias or force resistance against the leg to further securethe door 52 against the flat front face 28.

As best seen in FIGS. 3, 8, and 10, a vent opening 72 comprising aseries of four generally triangular shaped apertures arranged in acircular pattern is formed through bottom wall 24 to allow air to bedrawn into the firebox 26. A vent control 74 having a similar series oftriangular shaped apertures is attached in axial alignment with the ventopening 72 so that the vent control 74 can be rotated about the axis.Thus, the vent opening 72 can be controlled between a fully closedposition in which the vent control covers the apertures of the ventopening, and a full open position in which the apertures of the ventopening are unblocked, allowing full flow of air into the firebox, or toany position therebetween. Thus, a user can adjust the flow of air intothe fire box when the removable door 52 is in place as described aboveto regulate the flow of air and the burn rate of the fire within thefirebox. A screen 73 is preferably positioned over the vent opening 72apertures to prevent material from falling from the firebox through thevent opening.

As can be seen, the fireplace described is well suited to overcomedeficiencies in fireplaces known in the art. The fireplace includes afully removable door for covering the firebox opening, comprising aglass panel or mesh screen. The door can be placed against the flatfront face of the fireplace and secured in place via a latchingmechanism, or may be removed entirely from the fireplace. The chimney ispositioned eccentrically rearward from the vertical axis of thehemispherically shaped firebox so that smoke is drawn back and away fromthe front opening, even with the door removed from the fireplace, and adamper is positioned within the chimney of the fireplace, eliminatingthe need for a damper in an external flue. A grate is formed integrallywith the bottom wall of the fireplace to allow wood or fuel to bepositioned above the bottom for more efficient burning. A vent formed inthe bottom wall allows the flow of air into the firebox to be regulatedto control the burning in the firebox when the front opening of thefireplace is covered with the removable door secured in place.

While the fireplace with removable door of the present invention respectto several exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that otherconfigurations are within the scope of the present invention. Forexample, while the fireplace with removable door has been described withrespect to embodiments in which the fireplace is hemispherical in shapeand the opening and removable door are semicircular, other shapes andconfigurations are anticipated by the present invention. For example,the firebox may be shaped as a pyramid or box, with a triangular orsquare door, respectively, without deviating from the present invention.Or the latching mechanism may be positioned other that at the top centerportion of the door. These and other embodiments are within the scope ofthe present invention.

Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as wellas components not shown, are possible without departing from the scopeof the claims below. Embodiments of the technology have been describedwith the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternativeembodiments will become apparent to readers of this disclosure after andbecause of reading it. Alternative means of implementing theaforementioned can be completed without departing from the scope of theclaims below. Identification of structures as being configured toperform a particular function in this disclosure and in the claims belowis intended to be inclusive of structures and arrangements or designsthereof that are within the scope of this disclosure and readilyidentifiable by one of skill in the art and that can perform theparticular function in a similar way. Certain features andsub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference toother features and sub-combinations and are contemplated within thescope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fireplace, comprising: a front wall defining afront portion of a firebox, the front wall comprising a flat surfacesurrounding and defining an opening into the firebox, wherein the flatsurface is sloped from perpendicular such that a top edge of the flatsurface is positioned rearwardly of bottom edge of the flat surface; anda removable door shaped to conform to the shape of the opening andconfigured to cover and extend beyond the opening in height and widthsuch that the door entirely covers the opening when positioned againstthe flat surface.
 2. The fireplace of claim 1, wherein the front wallfurther comprises a lip protruding outwardly from a lower edge of theflat surface, the lip configured to the shape of a lower edge of theremovable door and operable to support the door.
 3. The fireplace ofclaim 2, wherein the removable door comprises a latching mechanismextending therethrough, wherein the latching mechanism comprises auser-operable handle operably coupled to a member configured to engageagainst a rear portion of the flat surface to secure the door in placeagainst the flat surface.
 4. The fireplace of claim 3, wherein thelatching mechanism comprises a T-shaped handle coupled to a first end ofa rotatable rod and the member comprises a bar extending radiallyoutwardly from a second end of the rotatable rod.
 5. The fireplace ofclaim 2, wherein the lip comprises first and second notches formed atopposite lower corners of the flat surface, the notches configured tocradle the removable door.
 6. The fireplace of claim 1, wherein thefirebox is hemispherical in shape and further comprises a cylindricalshaped chimney having an interior passageway extending upwardly from atop of the hemisphere and in fluid communication with the firebox,wherein the chimney is positioned eccentrically rearward from a verticalcenter axis of the hemispherical shaped firebox.
 7. The fireplace ofclaim 6, further comprising a damper positioned in the chimney, thedamper movable between a closed position in which the interiorpassageway of the chimney is substantially blocked by the damper and anopen position in which the passageway of the chimney is substantiallyopen.
 8. The fireplace of claim 1, further comprising a grate formedintegrally with an interior bottom wall of the firebox.
 9. The fireplaceof claim 8, wherein the grate comprises a plurality of protrusionsextending upwardly from the interior bottom wall.
 10. The fireplace ofclaim 8, wherein the bottom wall comprises a vent opening therethroughand wherein a cover coupled to the bottom wall is movable to cover atleast a portion of the vent opening.
 11. A fireplace, comprising: afirebox comprising a plurality of walls integrally joined into ahemispherical shape, wherein a front wall comprises a flat surfacesurrounding and defining a semicircular shaped opening into the firebox,wherein the flat surface is sloped from perpendicular such that a topedge of the flat surface is positioned rearwardly of a bottom edge ofthe flat surface; and a semicircular shaped removable door having aheight and width greater that a corresponding height and width of theopening configure to cover and extend beyond the opening such that thedoor entirely covers the opening when positioned against the flatsurface.
 12. The fireplace of claim 11, wherein the front wall furthercomprises a lip protruding outwardly from a lower edge of the flatsurface, the lip configured to the shape of a lower edge of theremovable door and operable to support the door.
 13. The fireplace ofclaim 12, wherein the removable door comprises a latching mechanismextending therethrough, wherein the latching mechanism comprises auser-operable handle operably coupled to a member configured to engageagainst a rear portion of the flat surface to secure the door in placeagainst the flat surface.
 14. The fireplace of claim 13, wherein thelatching mechanism comprises a T-shaped handle coupled to a first end ofa rotatable rod and the member comprises a bar extending radiallyoutwardly from a second end of the rotatable rod.
 15. The fireplace ofclaim 12, wherein the lip comprises first and second notches formed atopposite lower corners of the flat surface, the notches configured tocradle the removable door.
 16. The fireplace of claim 11, wherein thefirebox further comprises a cylindrical shaped chimney having aninterior passageway extending upwardly from a top of the hemisphere andin communication with the firebox, wherein the chimney is positionedeccentrically rearward from a vertical center axis of the hemisphericalshaped firebox.
 17. The fireplace of claim 16, further comprising adamper positioned in the chimney, the damper movable between a closedposition in which the interior passageway of the chimney issubstantially blocked by the damper and an open position in which thepassageway of the chimney is substantially open.
 18. The fireplace ofclaim 11, further comprising a grate formed integrally with an interiorbottom wall of the firebox.
 19. The fireplace of claim 18, wherein thegrate comprises a plurality of protrusions extending upwardly from theinterior bottom wall.
 20. The fireplace of claim 18, wherein the bottomwall comprises a vent opening therethrough and wherein a cover coupledto the bottom wall is movable to cover at least a portion of the ventopening.